Magnetic tapes have found various applications in audio tapes, videotapes, computer tapes, etc. In particular, in the field of magnetic tapes for data-backup (or backup tapes), tapes with memory capacities of several tens to 100 GB per reel are commercialized in association with increased capacities of hard discs for back-up. In future, a backup tape with a capacity of 1 TB or more will be proposed, and it is indispensable for such a backup tape to have a higher recording density.
In the production of a magnetic tape capable of meeting such a demand for higher recording density, advanced techniques are required for production of very fine magnetic powder, highly dense dispersion of such magnetic powder in a coating layer, smoothing of such a coating layer, and formation of a thinner magnetic layer.
To increase the recording density, recording signals with shorter wavelength and tracks with shorter pitches are required, and there has been emerged a system using servo tracks so that a reproduction head can correctly trace the tracks.
To meet the main demand for recording of signals with shorter wavelength, magnetic powder for use in magnetic tape have been improved to have more and more fine particle size and also improved in magnetic characteristics. In the field of the existing data backup tape, magnetic powders of ferromagnetic iron oxide, Co-modified ferromagnetic iron oxide, chromium oxide and the like, used in audio systems and household video tapes have been dominantly used. Presently, needle-shape metallic magnetic powder having a particle size of 100 nm or so has been proposed. On the other hand, to prevent a decrease in output due to demagnetization in recording signals with shorter wavelengths, backup tapes with higher coercive forces have been vigorously developed year by year. As a result of such developments, backup tapes with coercive forces of about 198.9 kA/m have been accomplished by the use of iron-cobalt alloys (JP-A-3-49026, JP-A-5-234064, JP-A-6-25702, JP-A-6-139553, etc.).
In the meantime, the media-producing techniques have been significantly advanced by the development of binder resins having a variety of functional groups, the improvement of the dispersing technique for the above magnetic powder, and further the improvement of the technique of calendering after the coating step. These improvements have markedly improved the surface smoothness of magnetic layers and contributed greatly to an increase in output of signals with shorter wavelengths (for example, JP-B-64-1297, JP-B-7-60504, JP-A-4-19815, etc.).
In association with the recent high density recording, the recording wavelength becomes shorter and shorter. Therefore, in case where the thickness of a magnetic layer is large, the saturation magnetization and the coercive force of conventional magnetic powder are insufficient within the shortest recording wavelength region, so that the reproducing output decreases to a fraction thereof. Further, because the recording wavelength is very short, self demagnetization loss and thickness loss due to the thickness of a magnetic layer give adverse influences on the resolution, although such demagnetization loss and thickness loss which occur when recorded signals are reproduced have not arisen so serious problem so far. This problem can not be overcome by the above improvement of the magnetic characteristics of magnetic powder and the improvement of the surfaces of magnetic layers by the medium-producing technique. Under such circumstances, it is proposed that the thickness of a magnetic layer should be reduced.
Generally, it is said that the effective thickness of a magnetic layer is about one third of the shortest recording wavelength used in the system. For example, the thickness of a magnetic layer is required to be about 0.1 μm when the shortest recording wavelength is 0.3 μm. With the trend of compacting a cassette (or a cartridge) for holding tape, a whole of magnetic tape is needed to be thinner so as to increase the recording capacity per volume. To meet such a demand, it is consequently needed to form a thinner magnetic layer. Further, to increase the recording density, a magnetic flux for writing which a magnetic head generates should have a very small area. In this connection, compacting of the magnetic head results in a smaller amount of magnetic flux generated thereby. In order for the above very small magnetic flux to cause a perfect magnetic inversion, it is necessary that a magnetic layer should be formed with a thinner thickness.
However, there arise other problems in the formation of a thinner magnetic layer. That is, when the thickness of a magnetic layer is reduced, the surface roughness of a non-magnetic support gives an adverse influence on the surface of the magnetic layer, so that the surface smoothness of the magnetic layer degrades. When a single magnetic layer is formed with a thin thickness, the solid content in a paint for magnetic layer should be decreased, or the amount of the paint to be applied should be decreased. However, the defects of coating are not eliminated and the filling of magnetic powder is not improved by these methods, which results in poor film strength. To overcome this problem, the following concurrent coating-and-laminating method is proposed: that is, in case where a thinner magnetic layer is formed by an improved medium-producing technique, a primer layer is provided between a non-magnetic support and a magnetic layer, and the upper magnetic layer is applied on the primer layer which is still in a wet state (JP-A-63-187418, JP-A-63-191315, JP-A-5-73883, JP-A-5-217148, JP-A-5-298653, etc.).
When the recording density in the tape-widthwise direction is increased by narrowing the width of the recording tracks, magnetic flux leaking from the magnetic tape is decreased. Therefore, it is needed that MR heads using magneto-resistance elements, which can achieve high output even when the magnetic fluxes are very small, are used for reproducing heads.
Examples of a magnetic tape which can correspond to MR heads are disclosed in JP-A-11-238225, JP-A-2000-40217 and JP-A-2000-40218. In the magnetic recording media described in these publications, skewness of outputs from the MR heads is prevented by controlling the magnetic fluxes from the magnetic recording media (a product of a residual magnetic flux density and the thickness of a medium) to a specific value or less, or the thermal asperity of the MR heads is reduced by controlling the dents on the surface of the magnetic layer to a specified value or less.
When the width of the recording tracks is decreased, the reproducing output lowers due to off-track. To avoid such a problem, track servo control is needed. As types of such track servo control, there are an optical servo system (JP-A-11-213384, JP-A-11-339254 and JP-A-2000-293836) and a magnetic servo system. In either of these systems, it is necessary that track servo control is performed on a magnetic tape which is drawn out from a magnetic tape cartridge (or a cassette tape) of single reel type which houses only one reel for winding the magnetic tape, in a box-shaped casing body. The reason for using a single reel type cartridge is that, when the tape-running speed is increased (for example, 2.5 m/second or higher), a tape can not be reliably run in a two-reel type cartridge which has two reels for drawing out the tape and for winding the same. The two-reel type cartridge has other problems in that the dimensions of the cartridge become larger and that the memory capacity per volume becomes smaller.
As mentioned above, there are two types of track servo systems, i.e., the magnetic servo system and the optical servo system. In the former track servo system, servo track bands are formed on a magnetic layer by magnetically recording, and servo tracking is performed by magnetically reading such servo track bands. In the latter optical servo type, servo track bands each consisting of an array of pits are formed on a backcoat layer by laser irradiation or the like, and servo tracking is performed by optically reading such servo track bands. Other than these types, there is such magnetic serve system in which magnetic servo signals are recorded on a magnetized backcoat layer (for example, JP-A-11-126327). Further, in other optical servo system, optical servo signals are recorded on a backcoat layer, using a material capable of absorbing light or the like (for example, JP-A-11-126328).
In general, recording tracks are written in the tape lengthwise direction in a linear recording type computer tape, and the width of the tracks of a reproducing head (reproducing track width) is set at a value fairly smaller than the recording track width: for example, the recording track width is about 28 μm, while the reproducing track width is about 12 μm; or the recording track width is about 24 μm, while the reproducing track width is about 12 μm. By doing so, the off-track margin is increased, and thus, a decrease in reproducing output is hardly caused, even when the position of the magnetic tape is dislocated by about 3 μm (dislocation due to edge weave on the tape or a change in size due to changes in temperature and/or humidity) or when there is about 3 μm of dislocation of tracks between each of units. Because of such a sufficient off-track margin, it is not needed to pay a careful attention on the edge weave of the magnetic tape or the widthwise dimensional stability thereof against changes in temperature and/or humidity.